On the Assessment of Self- and Object Representations from the Rorschach: A Review of the Research and Commentary

Abstract

While the research on the use of the Rorschach to assess object relations has been comprehensively reviewed in 1990 by Fishier, Sperling, and Carr and by Stricker and Healey, the research on the use of the Rorschach to assess object representations has not. This was the purpose of this paper. Research on the structure and content of Rorschach-derived object representations were examined. This research indicates that severity of clinical manifestation of psychopathology is accompanied by severity of distortion in the structure of Rorschach percepts and their perceived malevolence. Issues raised by this research and the kinds of research still needed were discussed.